Considering that 8 in 10 consumers are now shopping online, your website serves as your digital storefront. You would never operate from a dilapidated brick-and-mortar store location that paints your business in an unprofessional light, and you need to have the same mindset with your website. The more intuitive and user-friendly your website is, the more visitors will want to stick around.

As a business owner, you should want a responsive, user-friendly website as it will help to drive conversions. And speaking of conversions, incorporating landing pages into your website design will allow you to attract more traffic, boost SEO, and turn more visitors into paying customers.

What is a Landing Page?
Technically, a landing page is a stand-alone page on your website that a consumer "lands" on. However, from a marketing perspective, a landing page needs to serve a specific purpose in order to convert traffic. Your business should use a landing page as an opportunity to make some type of trade or special offer in exchange for a visitor providing you with his or her contact information. For example, your landing page offer could be for a free ebook in exchange for collecting the lead's email address and phone number.

While landing pages can serve as lead generation powerhouses for your business, it's important to note that not all landing pages are created equal. If a landing page is cumbersome to use or the offer is not clear, it won't send the right message to prospective customers. In fact, poorly designed landing pages will negatively impact your ability to convert and could cause traffic to depart for a competitor's website.

Best Practices for Designing Landing Pages that Convert
When it comes to stellar landing page design, you need to make sure you have the right content marketing agency on your side. In our experience, here are some best practices for designing landing pages that convert:

1. Simple, Clean DesignThe landing pages on your website will often serve as the first impression that visitors have of your business. While aesthetics are important, you need to ignore the temptation to get carried away with exciting design features. Landing pages should serve one purpose--to convert--and designing a clean and sleek page around this objective will help you to accomplish it.

2. Consistent with Overall BrandingWell-designed websites should have a sense of continuity as a whole, including the landing pages that you include on your website. This means that the logos and other branded elements that you include on your landing pages need to be consistent with your overall website and branding strategy.

3. User-FriendlyA landing page is your tool for closing the deal, so getting there needs to be as effortless and user-friendly for visitors as possible. Avoid the temptation to include too many navigational options and instead keep your visitors' eyes on the prize--the conversion.

4. Clear Call-to-ActionYour call-to-action needs to be placed in a prominent position to capture your visitor's attention as soon as he or she arrives on your landing page. Consider factors such as the user of color, font, and text elements to attract eyeballs. Be sure to spell out the action that you want your visitors to take.

5. Deliver ValueConsidering that you want to keep a simple and clean design for your landing page, you can't afford to waste a single word in your copy. Not only does your copy need to be compelling, but it also much explain your value proposition as concisely as possible.

Why You Need a Professional Digital Marketing Agency On Your SideImplementing these five best practices for designing a landing page is one part of the equation. You must also consider the functionality of your landing pages. That's where partnering with the right digital marketing agency can really come in handy.

The forms and social sharing buttons that you include on your landing pages need to be intuitive for your website visitors to use and perform flawlessly. Asking your website visitors to fill out a form or share your business on social media requires an extra step on their part, and making these processes as smooth as possible will help to eliminate any friction that would prevent your visitors from taking action.

With so many different design elements to consider, your digital marketing partner can help you to run A/B testing to determine which design elements and calls-to-action will allow you to maximize conversions on your landing pages. Our team at New York Ave can help your business to build a professional and engaging website that is designed with conversions in mind. If you're ready to start getting results from your website, contact us to learn how we can help you to optimize your landing pages to drive conversions and benefit your bottom line.